Remaster
Remaster (also digital remastering and digitally remastered) refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. Mastering Often a pyramid of copies would be made from a single original "master" recording, which might itself be based on previous recordings. For example, sound effects (a door opening, punching sounds, falling down the stairs, a bell ringing, etc.) might have been added from copies of sound effect tapes similar to modern sampling to make a radio play for broadcast. A master is the recording which experts state will be the definitive copy that is duplicated for the end user usually into other formats i.e. LP records, CDs, DVDs etc. Problematically, several different levels of masters often exist for any one audio release. As an example, examine the way a typical music album from the 1960s was created. Musicians and vocalists were recorded on multi-track tape. This tape was mixed to create a stereo or mono master. A further master tape would likely be created from this original master recording consisting of equalization and other adjustments and improvements to the audio to make it sound better on record players for example. More master recordings would be duplicated from the equalized master for regional copying purposes (for example to send to several pressing plants). Pressing masters for vinyl recordings would be created. Often these interim recordings were referred to as Mother Tapes. All vinyl records would derive from one of the master recordings. Thus, mastering refers to the process of creating a master. This might be as simple as copying a tape for further duplication purposes, or might include the actual equalization and processing steps used to fine-tune material for release. The latter example usually requires the work of mastering engineers. With the advent of digital recording in the late 1970s, many mastering ideas changed. Previously, creating new masters meant incurring an analogue generational loss; in other words, copying a tape to a tape meant reducing the signal-to-noise ratio. This means how much of the original intended "good" information is recorded against faults added to the recording as a result of the technical limitations of the equipment used (noise, e.g. tape hiss, static, etc.). Although noise reduction techniques exist, they also increase other audio distortions such as azimuth shift, wow and flutter, print-through and stereo image shift. With digital recording, masters could be created and duplicated without incurring the usual generational loss. As CDs were a digital format, digital masters created from original analog recordings became a necessity. Remastering Remastering is the process of making a new master for an album, film, or any other creation. It tends to refer to the process of porting a recording from an analogue medium to a digital one, but this is not always the case. For example, a vinyl LP – originally pressed from a worn-out pressing master many tape generations removed from the "original" master recording – could be remastered and re-pressed from a better-condition tape. All CDs created from analogue sources are technically digitally remastered. The process of creating a digital transfer of an analogue tape remasters the material in the digital domain, even if no equalization, compression, or other processing is done to the material. Ideally, because of their higher resolution, a CD or DVD (or even higher quality like high-resolution audio or hi-def video) release should come from the best source possible, with the most care taken during its transfer. Additionally, the earliest days of the CD era found digital technology in its infancy, which sometimes resulted in poor-sounding digital transfers. The early DVD era was not much different, with copies of films frequently being produced from worn prints, with low bitrates and muffled audio. When the first CD remasters turned out to be bestsellers, companies soon realized that new editions of back-catalogue items could compete with new releases as a source of revenue. Back-catalogue values skyrocketed, and today it is not unusual to see expanded and remastered editions of relatively modern albums. Master tapes, or something close to them, can be used to make CD releases. Better processing choices can be used. Better prints can be utilized, with sound elements remixed to 5.1 surround sound and obvious print flaws digitally corrected. The modern era gives publishers almost unlimited ways to touch up, doctor, and "improve" their media, and as each release promises improved sound, video, extras and others, producers hope these upgrades will entice people into making a purchase. Music Remastering music for CD or even digital distribution first starts from locating the original analog version. The next step involves digitising the track or tracks so it can be edited using a computer. Then the track order is chosen. This is something engineers often worry about because if the track order is not right, it may seem sonically unbalanced. When the remastering starts, engineers use software tools such as a limiter, an equaliser, and a compressor. The compressor and limiters are ways of controlling the loudness of a track. However, this is not to be confused with the volume of a track, which is controlled by the listener during playback. The dynamic range of an audio track is measured by calculating the variation between the loudest and the quietest part of a track. In recording studios the loudness is measured with negative decibels, zero designating the loudest record-able sound. A limiter works by having a certain cap on the loudest parts and if that cap is exceeded, it is automatically lowered by a ratio preset by the engineer. Criticism Remastered audio has been the subject of criticism. Many remastered CDs from the late 1990s onwards have been affected by the "loudness war", where the average volume of the recording is increased and dynamic range is compressed at the expense of clarity, making the remastered version sound louder at regular listening volume and more distorted than an uncompressed version. Some have also criticized the overuse of noise reduction in the remastering process, as it affects not only the noise, but the signal too, and can leave audible artifacts. Interview with Steve Wilson in Preston 53 Degrees venue, date 20/4/07. Equalisation can change the character of a recording noticeably. As EQ decisions are a matter of taste to some degree, they are often the subject of criticism. Mastering engineers such as Steve Hoffman have noted that using flat EQ on a mastering allows listeners to adjust the EQ on their equipment to their own preference, but mastering a release with a certain EQ means that it may not be possible to get a recording to sound right on high-end equipment. Additionally, from an artistic point of view, original mastering involved the original artist, remastering often does not. Therefore, many times remasters result in a totally changed character to the music. Film and television : original footage on the left; remastered footage on the right]] To remaster a movie digitally for DVD and Blu-ray, digital restoration operators must scan in the film frame by frame at a resolution of at least 2,048 pixels across (referred to as 2K resolution). Some films are scanned at 4K, 6K, or even 8K resolution to be ready for higher resolution devices. Scanning a film at 4K—a resolution of 4096 × 3092 for a full frame of film—generates at least 12 terabytes of data before any editing is done. Digital restoration operators then use specialist software such as MTI's Digital Restoration System (DRS) to remove scratches and dust from damaged film. Restoring the film to its original color is also included in this process. As well as remastering the video aspect, the audio is also remastered using such software as Pro Tools to remove background noise and boost dialogue volumes so when actors are speaking they are easier to understand and hear. Audio effects are also added or enhanced, as well as surround sound, which allows the soundtrack elements to be spread among multiple speakers for a more immersive experience. An example of a restored film is the 1939 film ''The Wizard of Oz. The color portions of Oz were shot in the three-strip Technicolor process, which in the 1930s yielded three black and white negatives created from red, green and blue light filters which were used to print the cyan, magenta and yellow portions of the final printed color film answer print. These three negatives were scanned individually into a computer system, where the digital images were tinted and combined using proprietary software. The cyan, magenta, and yellow records had suffered from shrinkage over the decades, and the software used in the restoration morphed all three records into the correct alignment. The software was also used to remove dust and scratches from the film by copying data, for example, from the cyan and yellow records to fix a blemish in the magenta record. Restoring the movie made it possible to see precise visual details not visible on earlier home releases: for example, when the Scarecrow says "I have a brain", burlap is noticeable on his cheeks. It was also not possible to see a rivet between the Tin Man's eyes prior to the restoration. Shows that were shot and edited entirely on film, such as Star Trek: The Original Series, cannot be released in high definition without being re-scanned from the original film recordings. Certain special effects were also updated to appear better in high-definition. Shows that were made between the early '80s and the early 2000s were generally shot on film, then transferred to cassette tape, and then edited natively in either NTSC or PAL, making high-definition transfers literally impossible as the standard definition resolution was baked into the final cuts of the episodes. Star Trek: The Next Generation is the only such show that has gotten a Blu-Ray release. The process of making high-definition versions of TNG episodes required finding the original film clips, re-scanning them into a computer at high definition, digitally re-editing the episodes from the ground up, and re-rendering new visual effects shots, an extraordinarily labor-intensive ordeal that cost Paramount over $12 million. The project was a financial failure and resulted in Paramount deciding very firmly against giving Deep Space Nine and Voyager the same treatment. Criticism Remastered movies have been the subject of criticism. When the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Predator was remastered, it was felt that the process was overdone, resulting in Schwarzenegger's skin looking waxy. As well as complaints about the way the picture looks, there have been other complaints about digital fixing. One notable complaint is from the 2002 remastered version of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), where director Steven Spielberg replaced guns in the hands of police and federal agents with walkie talkies. A later 30th anniversary edition released in 2012 saw the return of the original scene. Canadian animator John Kricfalusi (of The Ren & Stimpy Show fame) has become a prominent critic of digital remastering, particularly in regards to its effects on Western animation. In his blog "John K. Stuff," he has admonished remasters for over-saturating colors and sharpening lines to the point of color bleeding (among other criticisms). He has gone on record in his blog to describe remastering as "digital ruination" and "digital destruction." Video games '' (left) and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (right) with redrawn graphics. Anniversary features both the old and new visuals in-game with a graphics swapping feature.]] Remastering a video game is more difficult than remastering a film or music recording because the video game's graphics show their age. This can be due to a number of factors, notably lower resolutions and less complicated rendering engines (usually 3D) at the time of release, while implementing newer graphical technologies may also change the gameplay. As a result, remastering a video game is uncommon due to the considerable development work required, consequently it is preferred to do a sequel or reboot instead. Modern computer monitors and high-definition televisions tend to have higher display resolutions and different aspect ratios than the monitors/televisions available when the video game was released. Because of this, classic games that are remastered typically have their textures updated. An example of a game that has had its original graphics re-rendered at higher resolutions is Hitman HD Trilogy, which contains two games with high resolution graphics: Hitman 2: Silent Assassin and Hitman: Contracts. Both were originally released on PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. The original resolution was 480p on Xbox, while the remastered resolution is displayed at 720p on Xbox 360. Another game remastered or re-released is Grand Theft Auto V to take advantage of the increased processing power of the next-generation consoles (PlayStation 4, Xbox One) over the original console releases (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360), with some controversy over the multiplayer component (Grand Theft Auto Online) as updates were only provided for the re-release and not the originals after September 2015. There is some debate regarding whether graphics of an older game at higher resolutions make a video game look better or worse than the original artwork, with comparisons made to colorizing black-and-white-movies. More significant than low resolution is original game engine's maximum limited complexity and simplicity of the original 3D models. Older computers and video game consoles had limited 3D rendering speed, which required simple 3D object geometry such as human hands without individual fingers but instead modeled like a mitten, and the world having a distinctly chunky appearance with no smoothly curving surfaces. Older computers also had less texture memory for 3D environments, requiring low resolution bitmap images that look visibly pixelated or blurry when viewed at high resolution. (Some early 3D games such as the 1993 version of DOOM also just used an animated two-dimensional image that is rotated to always face the player character, rather than attempt to render highly complex scenery objects or enemies in full 3D.) In some cases, the original game's graphics visual assets are not compatible with the new technology, so the developers are necessitated to remake or remodel them with improved texture depth, physically-based rendering, and light-reflection; and additional features such as realistic physics and joints employed for movable objects like character models. An example of a game that has had its graphics redesigned is Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, while the core character and level information is exactly the same as in Halo: Combat Evolved. Another example is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare which was remastered as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered; See also *Special edition *Remake and Video game remake *Audio mastering *Mastering engineer References Category:Audio engineering